The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary show at the new GCU Arena proved to be memorable on a lot of levels. It started at 5:30 when we were allowed in for a sound check and heard first hand how the band sounds. Compared to the first time I saw them live in 1967 and three other times in between, it was staggering. With the original members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and “new” member Bruce Johnston (he joined in 1965!) agmented by the younger of members from Brian, Mike, and Al‘s individual bands, the group has never sounded fuller, richer, or better in live performance. Credit must also be given to Jeff Foskett who picked up the high falsetto parts and Darian Sahanaja on keyboards who gave a spot on performance of “Darlin” in The Beach Boys second set that evening. My only complaint: they didn’t sing All Summer Long, Dance Dance Dance, or Surf’s Up. But then I could add another dozen favorites I’d like to have heard. As it was, 50 songs was more than generous.

When Mike Love announced early in the first set last night that they would sing 50 songs for 50 years, no one actually believed they would go through a 50 song set list, but that’s exactly what they did. And to make things even better, the entire show was recorded with nine cameras spread throughout the arena, for a PBS special this fall. When Channel 8 airs it, one of the premiums offered for a $100 pledge will be a 9 cd set of Beach Boys albums and a 10th disc autographed by the entire group. Now that’s a steal, and with the taping you’ll get to experience what was one of the most memorable concert evenings the group and a few thousand friends shared together.

And thanks to Danny Zelesko for bringing them to town – it was quite a party.